How does variation in ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity affect tree growth? What are the knowledge gaps to more fully answering this question? See my review out today in Fungal Ecology: doi.org/10.1016/j.fu...

We all know more and more people are hiring private firefighting crews in L.A. But who are the private firefighters? Their price? Their vibe? I drove up the Sierra Hwy to spend the day with a stuntman/teamster/firefighter to find out… For @rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Happy to share this work that just came out. Emily Bechtold and co-authors collated a huge amount of field microbiome data to identify microbial signals associated with high methane fluxes from freshwater terrestrial wetlands - more here 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

📣 Our paper on soil carbon response to tree planting is out in J. of Env. Management: 🌲 Temperate grassland conversion to conifer forest destabilises mineral soil carbon stocks Open access ➡️ tinyurl.com/3krerb92 A short thread ⤵️

10 degrees and snowing means perfect weather to get rid of some slash piles….

Took about 20 seconds of the Severance season 1 ‘recap’ for me to realize I had absolutely no recollection of what happened. Re-watch it is then…..

Taps flier

With today's report outlining risks on mirror life www.science.org/doi/full/10.... many have asked: Could mirror life survive in the wild? Yes. While mirror life in the wild could have some significant disadvantages (like finding food it can digest), they do not appear to be insurmountable: 🧵

Well I guess it's time to restart the postcards from the anthropocene thread over here 📷 @asssociatedpress.bsky.social

The Willige Lab in the Department of Soil & Crop Sciences at CSU is looking for new graduate students. Position and application details below 👇

Christmas gathering for members of the Colorado State Microbiome Network!

Great end to the semester in our grad student presentation class! Kya Sparks spoke about her work investigating forest soil microbiomes, capping off 16 weeks of engaging presentations from grad students in the Soil & Crop Sciences department. Pic courtesy of Kelly Wrighton @jchrispires.bsky.social

The outcry over the Hunter Biden pardon is a symptom of a party that has not yet mourned the kind of political norms that will never return. Wrote about it for Bad Faith Times: bad-faith-times.ghost.io/the-dogs-con...

Smart of Jerry Jeudy to conserve his effort for his last two seasons in Denver just so he could be fresh for this game

Our sister department here at Colorado State (Agricultural Biology) is looking for a new department head. Position details here: jobs.colostate.edu/postings/153...

Hey Colorado peeps, especially those that live in Summit/Park Co. Someone I attended high school with is missing. Please be on the lookout for Jayna Lang. Last seen 11/24 in her 2016 white Toyota 4Runner, license plate “JAYNA.” If you’ve seen it please call the police. Share this widely

Pair of mountain lions cruising on through the property… 📍Bellvue, Colorado

I know Georgia beating Georgia Tech isn't an upset but you should rush the field after 8 overtimes just to avoid deep vein thrombosis

I'm looking for a new grad student interested in microbiology of ancient groundwaters, a fascinating journey into an enigmatic environment with opportunities for fundamental discovery and relevance to groundwater remediation. Contact me if you like fieldwork, mesocosm experiments and metagenomics.

It was a pleasure to work on this project! Check it out if you’re interested in genome-resolved insights into river microbiomes

wait why does the dept of government efficiency have two co-chairs

Today, I wrap up teaching the writing part of my #SciComm class for the 8th (& possibly last) time. It is so gratifying to see the growth and reflection amongst the students in the class. At the end, I give the class my synopsis "Schimel Sheet": burginlab.wordpress.com/wp-content/u... Please share.

Starter pack of biogeofeminists (I have missed many if not most - pls add yourself below & I can update 🩵💜 go.bsky.app/784EKsF

A rollercoaster read: Convergent evolution of viral-like Borg archaeal extrachromosomal elements and giant eukaryotic viruses www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Do... do borgs package themselves in capsids... or vaults ?

Almost a work of art: gas bubbles trapped in the ice in a beaver pond in northern Colorado

Excited to see this out - Dr. Kaela Amundson led this forward-looking review on anthropogenic impacts on the terrestrial subsurface biosphere www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I consulted for a Kurzgesagt cartoon about the Deep Subsurface Biosphere, and it turned out AMAZING! These guys must have had a blast putting all this together. Check it out here m.youtube.com/watch?v=VD6x...

I wrote about the merciful end of Leslie Knope politics: bad-faith-times.ghost.io/democrats-ar...

New National Academies report on linkages between soil and human health. Discussions on the microbial components will be happening this afternoon at ASM, 515p, room 304 nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2745...

"Priorities, opportunities, and challenges for integrating microorganisms into Earth system models for climate change prediction" Now available in mBio: tinyurl.com/mswta3dd

Don't let the door hit ya on the — never mind, there's no door

Predicting microbial growth conditions from amino acid composition www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs

#JobAlert #microbiology #microbiologyjobs I am hiring a scientist to work with me at the US Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia. Interested? Apply at www.usajobs.gov/job/783135100 starting April 1st (note that only 50 applications will be accepted). Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.

Big congratulations to @ameliarnelson.bsky.social who successfully defended her PhD earlier this week!

This is wild…

Excited to share our new study showing that soil warming does not increase bacterial growth rates, as previously thought, but causes twice as many taxa to become active. Great work by Dennis Metze! @christinakaiser.bsky.social, @cemess.bsky.social, @univie.ac.at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

For the NSF DEB community - see the new solicitation for the core programs. What’s to note? SG (Small Grants) changed to STAR - new acronym with more $, now $400k. Great for theory, synthesis, postdoc initiated ideas, etc. Only 10 pages too. new.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Jerry Jones hasn't been this disappointed since they desegregated his hometown swimming pool

I wrote about the winning smile and deeply boring evil of Ron DeSantis, and I hope I never do it again. defector.com/what-puts-a-...

“Absolutely, we’ll pay for forehead”

I am excited to officially announce that I will be starting my own lab at the University of Calgary in January 2024 to study the human virome! I am recruiting grad students and postdocs. For more details, please check out my lab’s website: www.integrativeviromicslab.com

For those who prefer hard copies, my open geomicrobiology textbook is now available in print for small charge via Amazon - a.co/d/84LBGDl. It also continues to be available online for free - newprairiepress.org/ebooks/53/#:....

Come join us at Colorado State in beautiful Fort Collins! Our department (Soil & Crop Sciences) is hiring for a tenure-track soil scientist position. Details at the link below: jobs.colostate.edu/postings/136...

My sources tell me that Yaccarino replied "whether it's soup or ice cream, #spoons are an absolute must!"